


by a hair's breadth

by milkyskeleton (orphan_account)



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: ANBU Dream, Alternate Universe - Naruto Fusion, Chuunin George, Clay | Dream is So Whipped (Video Blogging RPF), Crack, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, YOU GUYS WHY IS BADBOYHALO NOT A CHARACTER TAG, anyway haha, no beta we die like the ppl of l'manberg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-14 11:01:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29541357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/milkyskeleton
Summary: ~“Oh, no, George,” this time, it sounded as if Dream's smile had gained teeth.“I think you should be running now.”~
Relationships: Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 22





	by a hair's breadth

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [A Crack in the Schedule](https://archiveofourown.org/works/100887) by [DarkAuroran](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkAuroran/pseuds/DarkAuroran). 



> i should NOT be allowed to watch both anime and twitch streamers. seriously. 
> 
> Loosely inspired by DarkAuroran 's WONDERFUL AMAZING S P EC T A C U L A R KakaIru fic "A Crack in the Schedule". Go give that a read, you definitely won't regret it >:)
> 
> here's a naruto quick rank chart if you haven't seen/read naruto and still want to read this :) :
> 
> \- Chuunin: can be lower or upper class, usually receive missions generally not involving combat, such as: escorting a guest safely to their destination, finding a lost pet, and so on so forth
> 
> \- Jounin: one of the higher ranks, usually get missions involving fighting, or attacks;
> 
> \- ANBU: basically professional assassins (those of you who've read/seen Naruto, shush. I know i'm pushing it here.)
> 
> \- Hokage: Leader of Konoha (to be loose about it haha)
> 
> if you know me outside of this fic, no you don't.

  
  


  
  


  
  


"..."

"...Psst,"

"..."

"...Hey, _psst_ ,"

"I don't think he can hear you."

"Look at him. He's probably dead."

"..."

“...”

“...”

"Hey, Geo-"

  
  


"Oh, for - ! _What_?! _What_ is it?!" George exclaimed, jumping up from his comfortable position sprawled over his desk to whirl around at his friends.

Sapnap and Ant both flinched back at the deranged flame burning up in their friend's eyes, the former of the two even going so far as toppling over a pile of mission documents in his haste to get away.

"A-ah, hi, George..." Sapnap hurried to chuckle, elbowing Ant suggestively, who only turned to stare deadpan at him. "Hope we didn't disturb you..."

George continued to gaze down at them for a moment longer (if only to see them squirm a bit), before sighing, running a hand over his eyes to rid himself of any remaining sleep. "Don't worry about it, I was just taking a nap." he turned to nod at them questioningly, "You guys need my help?"

It was the moment that Ant cleared his throat, hesitating slightly, that George knew something bad was looming above them all. Sapnap remaining uncharacteristically quiet while fidgeting from one foot to another, resolutely avoiding looking at either of them, certainly did not make the situation seem too swell either.

"Hey, what is it?" George began to feel something akin to panic rise in his gut the longer his friends remained silent. "What's wrong?"

Ant surprisingly spoke up, coughing in his fist again. "Ahm, well you see..."

"... _Yes_?"

"... Sapnap, you tell him."

"Me?! Why me?! I-" George caught his eye, slowly (but threateningly) placing his hands on his hips. "Uh, alright..."

"We were, uh, fooling around," - _of course they were_ \- "And, we might've slightly,"

  
  


"..."

  
  


"Probably..."

  
  


"Yes?"

  
  


"Maybe,"

  
  


" _Yes?_ "

  
  


" _Possibly_ ,"

  
  


George glared at him.

  
  


"-Mixed up the Chuunin and Jounin mission files." Sapnap blurted out with a wince, scrunching his face up in hesitance,

George was rooted to his spot, a shadow seeming to have fallen over his mind. "...What?" he finally said, after it seemed an eternity had passed.

Ant opened his mouth to repeat, but thought better of it, ultimately only shrugging tensely and nodding.

Sapnap jumped into action, latching onto his friend's arm, eyes sparkling with crocodile tears, a puppy-pout on his lips. "George, please forgive me!" he said dramatically, though George was sure he was actually shaking in his boots.

(The next part, his friend murmured, “It's weird, though. I could've sworn I...” but he trailed off, shaking his head as if dispelling a ridiculous thought.)

Because, well, if _Jounin_ had _Chuunin_ missions, not only would they have probably finished them already, but there was a big chance they were heading straight for the Mission Room - _their_ Mission Room, to complain about their easy tasks. Jounin were arrogant, powerful beings, no way could their pride take a rescue-a-cat-from-a-tree-mission easily.

George felt a cool chill travel down his spine at the thought of twenty, if not _more_ , displeased Jounin hacking up figurative hairballs on the Mission Room's tiny carpet, slicing very _real_ kunai around. _Hell no_.

"Okay, uh," he ran a hand through his hair in panic, seeing his friends start to understand the gravity of the situation as well, sending them following his trail around his desk, where he started to rifle through his cupboards in search of anything, literally _anything_ that could possibly help them. A tense atmosphere surrounded them.

"Oh, muffin, what do we _do_?" he asked no one in particular, turning to stare out the window and towards Konoha, who seemed peaceful, almost _too_ peaceful. The calm before the storm.

An idea sparked before his eyes.

"Wait, I think I've got something." he said to the other two, leaning forwards conspiratorially as if the proud upper-rank ninjas were around to hear him. "You both should send out a couple of clones to keep an eye on the Jounin. You two should go personally after the more... ehm, _intense_ ones." he tried a chuckle, but even that was quickly stifled.

"Meanwhile, I'll go to the Hokage and try to find some other Jounin missions, or, maybe even find the poor Chuunin who got them instead. I'll try and find Bad on the way, to help you. If you guys can manage to stall a bit, before they get here to an empty room and no missions, then this should blow off without a hitch." he finished, determined, watching as the other two slowly started gathering their wits about them, fragile as they were.

Sapnap even went as far as pumping a strong-willed fist up in the air, a lopsided grin on his face. "Alright, we can do it! How hard can this be anyway?"

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  


_Yeah, how hard could it be?_ , George thought, slowing to halt, and peering around the corner of the alley nervously, _Just normal teachers trying to go unnoticed by some of the best ninjas Konoha had to offer. Nothing to fret about, was it?_

He ground his teeth together, pulling his uniform around him tighter, as if that would offer a semblance of comfort and bravery to him. George smiled bitterly. All that was missing from this worrying day was -

“Oh, Geooorge!”

 _Shit_. He felt a drop of freezing cold sweat drip down his spine. _No. This couldn't be-_

A foot suddenly connected with his back, sending him tripping forward with an unsteady ' _whoa_!', barely catching himself before falling in the pleasant-looking mud puddle in front of him. _But_ , George refused to turn around, _that was definitely not the worse part about this situation_.

Once again, a bead of sweat trailed down his nape and under his shirt. He forced an awkward smile on his face, before turning around to face the person who'd – quite unceremoniously – shoved him.

The _unusual_ , to put it lightly, ANBU dubbed 'Dream', leaned on the wall, hands in his pockets, a foot crossed over another. He was a man of taller stature, with a slight slouch in his posture, as if nothing could, or would ever take him by surprise, so there was no need for him to stay alert in the first place. He was dressed in the usual ANBU garb, dark pants and grey chest piece, hood pulled down to reveal shock of spiky ashy-blonde hair. The silver from his hitai-ate glinted in the pale daylight.

The man had a white mask covering his entire face, as most ANBU did, a weird, almost, well, _scary_ smile painted on it. It was too _wide_ , too _simple_ to be anything less than unnerving to George.

Even if one could not make out any distinctive features of the man who called himself 'Dream', it was quite obvious to anyone that he was not your usual ANBU. He seemed relaxed in each and every situation, and George always had the nagging feeling that he was grinning behind that smiley mask of his.

The overall _languid_ air about him did not make George feel more at ease. Quite the opposite, actually. He'd met his fair share of ANBU in his short life, and it was always easier to deal with the silent, hardened warriors the elite ninjas were supposed to be. Certainly not whatever _this_ was.

He stretched his lips even further out, in hopes of keeping his smile intact. Giving a respectful, if a bit short, bow, he discreetly took a step back, all while saying, “Ah, hello. How are you today, Mr. Dream?” he said politely. His cheeks hurt from smiling so much.

Dream tilted his head to the side slightly, and George momentarily moved his gaze away from that unnerving mask. The ninja took a step forwards as well, if his was wider and more relaxed than his had been.

“Oh, me? Good, good,” the ANBU nodded to himself casually, even going so far as glancing around, as if he were out taking a stroll.

George squirmed in his spot. He _really_ had to go.

Dream's head snapped back towards him, and George could have _sworn_ on _all_ of his belongings the man was grinning a full-teeth grin behind his guise. “In a hurry, are we?”

He felt a wave of relief wash over him, and he nodded rapidly. Surely he'd understand - “Yes, I am, actually! You see, I've these important documents to give to the Hokage -”

“I was in a hurry too, you know,” Dream cut him off, slowing to a stop in front of George, once the latter had stopped as well. His voice was both amused and icy at the same time, and George found himself not liking it all that much at all. “And hungry too.”

He glanced towards the alley he had to go through, before looking back at the mask. _Muffin_ , how he hated not being able to look people directly in the eye - “You were?” he forced an awkward chuckle, “I'm so very sorry, but you see, I should _really_ be getting going right now. But, but I'll make it up to you as soon as I caAn - !” the last sentence ended on an embarrassingly high-pitched note, that sounded more like he was being strangled to death than anything else, as he narrowly – _barely_ – dodged the lightning-fast hand stretching out towards him.

Dream's fingers clutched on the air where George's body had been a moment ago, as if not wanting to recognize the fact that George had been quicker than him.

“Aha, well...” he took an actual step back now, choking out an awkward laugh. “I'll make it up to you, Mr. Dream. Uh, does tomorrow night work for you? I can get you some ramen from Ichiraku, just tell me where to leave iT-!”

He promptly shut his mouth, hearing his teeth _clack_ together at the sudden, forceful movement. Dream's head had turned towards him, slightly tilted, while the rest of his body still faced the wall; he still hadn't gotten over his loss, however unimportant and childish the matter actually was.

“Oh, no, George,” this time, it sounded as if Dream's smile had gained teeth. George took a step back, as the ninja started to walk – something almost akin to a _prowl_ , but he quickly dispelled that thought – towards him, his posture still as relaxed as it had been when they'd only just started this conversation. “I think you should be running now.”

The sentence hung heavily in the silent air, George opening his mouth to say something, Dream tilting his head minutely to the side.

George turned around and dashed down the alleyway as fast as he could, a childish, yet frighteningly dark wheeze echoing somewhere from behind him.

_Okay_ , he huffed out a breath, darting down the nearest alleyway. He had probably about three minutes before the other decided to start giving chase. He only thought so because if Dream had actually wanted to catch him from the start, he'd already be in the clutches of said elite ninja.

 _Damn, damn, damn_ , George cursed over in his head, counting down the seconds in his head; a minute had already passed. He groaned, eyes frantically running over the houses surrounding him, in hopes of anything to keep him away from the ANBU. Or rather, keep the ANBU away from _him_.

Here's the thing, it had all happened last Monday. Which, in reality, was two days from then.

  
  


~~~

  
  


“-Here you go, thank you for your service!” George flashed the beat-up Jounin a sweet smile, making the other pause for one second, before nodding dazedly, something red blotching his ears as he turned and left.

George grinned to himself; there was nothing he liked more than repaying those who worked hard, and did their job right. They were very brave, and they certainly deserved to know it.

He glanced towards his side where Bad came up to stand next to his desk, two bowls of ramen in either of his hands, a small smile on his face. “Hey,” he greeted George, who waved at him in turn, before nodding towards the food, already hearing his stomach rumbling.

“Is either of those for me?” he asked hopefully, making Bad chuckle as he placed down the bowls of ramen, right next to that belonging to another.

“Sure it is. You've been here all day, George, have a short break. I can take over for a couple of minutes,” Bad patted his arm, gently pushing George backwards to scoot his own chair at the desk.

“But – but - ! Your food is going to get cold!” George protested, but Bad had already turned towards the returning ninjas, merely offering him a dismissing wave of his hand.

He rolled his eyes fondly, before fixing the food with an excited eye, rubbing his hands together mischievously. Slowly – _don't scare your prey away, George_ – he approached the bowls, snatching the first one he saw up, and inhaling deeply.

With a pleased sigh, he sat in his chair, wasting not a moment to dig in to the delicious food, closing his eyes at the marvelous taste currently exploding in his taste buds. He shoveled as many noodles as possible in his mouth.

His daydream was interrupted by a quiet ' _Excuse me_ ', from his left, as well as the sound of the Mission Room door being loudly opened.

It was the door that had caught his attention, especially considering a disheveled Ant was now running towards them at full speed, narrowly dodging the people in his way.

“Excuse me,” came again from his left, but George hadn't heard the voice, turning to furrow his eyebrows in worry as his friend came to a stop, drawing a ragged breath, slamming his hands on the desk. Some of the people had stopped what they were doing to look at them.

“Ant, what's wrong?” George asked immediately, swallowing down the remaining food in his mouth. The other merely wheezed for a second, trying to regain his breath.

“Sapnap – _wheeze_ – is being attacked by – _wheeze_ -,” George's heart lodged in his throat. He jumped up from his seat anxiously. _Who was he being attacked by, Ant?! Who?!!_ “- the kids from the Third Class.”

George gasped, Bad jumping to his feet from behind him as well, an equally alarmed look about him.

“We've got to help him!” he said in both horror and determination, pumping a fist in the air. He was now aware there were multiple pairs of amused eyes on them, but he could care less. This was a serious matter - the kids they'd affectionately dubbed 'Third Class' were a menace. No way Sapnap could handle them on his own.

It was a whirlwind of chaos, as the trio shoved papers and documents left and right messily, apologetically pointing the returning ninjas to other Chuunins' desks. George worked quickly, and with one last serious nod, both Ant and Bad made for the door in a jog.

He turned the key over to his desk's cupboard, before jumping up as well, ready to follow them. A tug on the back of his vest pulled his determined start to a stop, winding the breath out of him in his surprise. He whirled around, ready to demand some answers, before his eyes met a pale mask, and his heart felt as if it had lodged itself in his throat.

An ANBU. What was an _ANBU_ doing in _their_ Mission Room??!

A bead of cold sweat trailed down his neck, and under his clothes. He clutched the bowl of ramen in his hands tighter, surprised to find he'd been holding it the entire time.

He awkwardly cleared his throat, suddenly grateful for all the sounds surrounding them. Though, how had the others not noticed a higher-up ninja just _casually_ standing in the midst of their small crowd...?

And – he stared at the two small, black dots, under which an unnerving smile stretched out, until his they blurred together – he _recognized_ this ninja. With growing horror, he realized. It was -

“Ah, you didn't hear me the first two times, sorry,” the reknown ANBU, Dream, said casually, as if he weren't a wolf in the chickens' den. George wanted to shake him, or _himself_ , better yet. Either one could work for him in that moment.

“I-It's alright,” he embarrassingly realized how high-pitched and nervous his voice sounded, even stumbling over the first few syllables. He cleared his throat, grinding his teeth together anxiously, every inch of his body telling him to _run, run, get the_ _ **heck**_ _outta here!_

“D-did you need something?” George hesitatingly asked, wincing at his tone. Should he have been more respectful? The ANBU he'd met before hadn't been too squeaky about his behavior, but Dream was, well, _Dream_. Everybody knew he was some kind of wild, exotic creature so very different from what was commonly expected of the elite ninjas.

“Well, you see,” Dream seemed to smile behind his mask. George wasn't sure it was a nice one. “I think what you're holding there is my food.”

George blinked wide-eyed at the ANBU for one second, before his eyes fell on the bowl he held in his hands, not even registering its contents in his nervousness. Right at the same time, Ant dropped in the room again, screeching, “ _George, what the_ _ **hell**_ _are you still doing here?!_ ”

Said man violently startled, his head whipping towards the door, completely forgetting about the professional assassin standing next to him for a moment. He nodded wildly, before thrusting the bowl in the man's hands, and elbowing his way through the crowd, with a last-minute shout of ”I'm sorry! You can have the rest of this, and mine too!” towards the ANBU, and an exclaimed “I'm coming!” towards his friend.

“Hey, wait - !” someone said behind him, as a second thought an added, “George - !”, but he was already out the door. “The bowl, it's -”

“...”

“- Empty.” the man finished, staring down at where his precious food had been mere minutes ago.

His gaze slowly picked up from his bowl, lingering over the intact ramen of the mystery man, and up towards the door.

  
  


~~~

  
  


_So, yes_ , George found, huffing grumpily under his breath, dodging under the shade provided by clothes hung out on a rack to dry, _he was being chased by a crazy ANBU who no doubt wanted some kind of payback for him eating his food._ Well, he'd offered to buy him ramen, so George wasn't exactly sure what the big fuss was all about, but, well... He did not plan on going against Dream, nor _any_ ANBU, in this lifetime.

Truthfully be said, George had been quite anxiously awaiting Dream's impending arrival once he'd returned from helping Sapnap out (the kids were just as demonic as he'd remembered them being), only to find the Mission Room devoid of any sign of that creepy mask, or its owner.

So, alright, Monday finishing off without another word from the ANBU was fine and dandy enough for him, but when Tuesday morning rolled up and Dream was yet again nowhere near holding George at the edge of his kunai, he began feeling restless. And so, he spent the day gathering whatever fragments of information he could gather about him, which, fair enough, was not much. But well, it was better than nothing.

He honestly should've expected Dream to pop up at the least favoring moment. A nagging feeling scratched at his conscience, yelling at him that the man had something to do with the whole mix-up thing. Which in reality was just him being salty that his friends had managed to mix the files up.

Bringing himself back out of his thoughts, he glanced around him, an idea sparking up inside his brain, making his lips pull into a mischievous grin. He eyed the clothes. _Of course_.

He was not a master at pulling pranks, but... he quickly tied the white sheet around the two poles, diving under them, glancing around for something, anything, before ultimately placing the bucket full of washing powder on top of the pole. He moved on with a smile. Dream wouldn't be expecting good ol' classic pranks, would he? George was aware ANBU could feel a chakra-infused seal a mile away, but that was exactly _why_ George was sure he'd be too occupied in trying to find him by his chakra to notice anything off about a sheet tied in the middle of a place with clothes hung out to dry.

He was no fool, though. He knew you did not mess around with ANBU. At all. But, he could (hopefully) shoulder whatever Dream wanted to throw at him, after he dealt with the other crazed Jounins. He couldn't take both sides at once, that was for sure. (Hell, he couldn't take on one side _at all_.)

For now, he rounded a corner, a relieved sigh escaping his lips as his eyes fell on the grand door leading towards the Hokage Residence. He'd made it this far, Dream had _no_ way of catching him once he was inside, even if for all his crazy, weird attitude compared to others.

He was saved.

  
  


A black shadow casually landed in the middle of the distance between him and the Hokage Residence. George froze, winced, then hesitatingly raised his gaze towards the stranger's face. Well. He'd spoken too soon.

Two black dots blinked at him, an unnerving smile grinning at him.

The air was tense, as George shifted his weight from one foot to the other, gripping his kunai under his clothes, even if realistically he knew he couldn't use it. His eyes drew upwards, and mortified, he hurried to stifle a choked laugh in his fist.

The man's previously blonde hair was now powdered in so much white it covered most of his hitai-ate, then blended perfectly into the white of his mask.

His lips quirked uncontrollably under his fingers, before he managed to compose himself, reminding himself of the respect he should be showing the other. Well, at least he knew his prank had gone well enough to at least slow the other a couple of seconds down.

He glanced behind the man, realizing he couldn't make straight for the entrance. He grit his teeth in nervousness, about to bounce, when Dream's casual voice sliced through the air.

“That wasn't very nice,” he said, but his words held something bemused and almost _interested_ in them, and George found himself feeling more nervous than he would've been if the other had been outright angry.

“Sorry, listen,” George stumbled a bit over his words, slowly turning his hands around to show his figurative innocence, “Can't I just buy you some ramen, and we call it a truce? Look, look -!” he threw two of his fingers up, pointing towards them wildly with the other hand, as if Dream couldn't see them. “I could even buy you two!”

Dream seemed to actually be considering it, making hope swell in George's chest, before ultimately stomping on it with his foot boredly, when he said, “Hmm, no.”

George threw his hands up in frustration, cautiously taking a step back once he saw the other begin to advance towards him as well. “W-what do you want from me then?!”

Dream hesitated, as if he were wondering as well, before shaking his head as if to rid himself of distracting thoughts. “For now, I'll settle on catching you. 'Sides, look what you did to my hair!” he ended in a dramatic voice, before abruptly lunging towards George at inhuman speed.

He released a surprised squeak, before taking off as if the demons of hell were at his heels. Which, in all account, they might as well have been.

He threw himself around the corner, already feeling his breath start catching in his throat instead of going all the way out his mouth. He couldn't hear Dream, but neither had he expected to be able to. Still, the complete silence, only occasionally broken by his ragged breathing, was slowly eating away at him.

George took a narrow left at the first alleyway, instantly ducking at one exact moment, right as Dream's hand whizzed right where he'd been a couple of seconds ago. The ANBU groaned petulantly as if he were a child playing with an annoying doll – something which George did not appreciate, _thank you very much_ -, before turning around halfway during his jump through the air, disappearing completely from view.

This made him even more anxious, if that seemed possible. _Why the hell - ?! Why had he disappeared?!_ He could've easily been caught there, so why hadn't Dream? Something was once again nagging at his conscience. Something _worrying_.

 _Whatever_ , he batted the weird thought away, steeling his nerves. Dream was a crazy bastard, one could never know his reasons.

The entrance to the Hokage Residence had once again came into view, and George allowed himself to spend half an instant glancing around cautiously, keeping his eyes peeled for any dangerous – _Dream_ – activity at all.

Once deeming it safe, he carefully took a step out from underneath the shadows provided by the many houses in Konoha, before hurriedly speeding towards the door.

“C'MERE, GEORGEE!” Said man yelped loudly, throwing himself forwards, and on the ground, once again successfully escaping the ninja's outstretched hands.

He propped himself up on his elbows, coughing at the dust invading his nostrils. He turned to glance behind him with wide eyes, immediately noticing Dream looming not so far away from him, his hands once again in his pockets casually.

 _What the heck was he doing?,_ George thought frantically. There was no doubt if Dream were actually trying to catch him, he wouldn't have made it even a step. Hell, even just higher-up Chuunin could probably catch him in a second.

 _And besides_ , he narrowed his eyes at the harsh sunlight hiding Dream's figure from view, _as an ANBU, didn't he have better things to do than play cat-and-mouse with some rando?_

“H-hey,” he stuttered, using his elbows to crawl himself backwards, further away from the other. It didn't matter if his uniform got dirty, as long as he made it out alive, and IN TIME TO SWITCH THE JOUNIN MISSIONS AROUND DAMN IT! “That's – that's alright now.”

“Aha. It seems I've caught you,” Dream said, sounding as if he were smiling. As if it had been quite a feat to catch George. As if he hadn't been just messing around.

George subtly backed away even further, as the man took a step forwards, taking all the time in the world. Well, he _did_ have all the time in the world. To do _what,_ exactly, George did not know.

Suddenly, his head bumped against something, and sparing only a fraction of a second, he realized he'd somehow reached the entrance to the Hokage Residence. A wide smile overtook his lips, and in a mere moment he scrambled to his feet, pulling the door open, and closing it behind him with a loud _thump!,_ not bothering to look for Dream, in case that was all it would take for the man to catch him for real this time.

With a relieved sigh and brush of his hand through his hair, George took off for the Hokage's office, a hurried spring to his step. Though, there was just an annoying feeling nagging at the back of his head, telling him Dream had seen the Hokage Residence, he hadn't gotten away because he'd managed to be sneaky, but because Dream had let him.

  
  


Well, it was whatever now, George thought, rounding the corner and running straight into a clothed chest.

With a surprised exclaim, he quickly took a step back, rubbing at his nose violently, opening his mouth and saying, “Sorry-”, before even that promptly died in his throat.

“'s no problem,” Dream nodded, carelessly twirling a kunai around his fingers. George gaped, as the other took a step forwards, tossing his weapon in the air languidly.

“I can't do shit here,” the man said as-a-matter-of-factly, almost bitterly amused. “You can relax, it's not like I was going to kill you or anything.”

George grit his teeth, shrinking in on himself. “Then what was your point? If you don't want the ramen I'm offering to buy you, _what do you want_?” he said, a bead of sweat trailing down the side of his face.

There it was again: Dream's hesitance, and uncertainty.

“...I'll take you up on your offer, actually.” he said after a while, thoughtfully nodding to himself as if he were a genius for realizing whatever it was he'd just realized. “You can buy me some ramen, and while we're at it, buy some for yourself too. It would be a waste to make a trip just for one meal, eh?”

George blinked in confusion at the other. His tone was light, and amused, and he had a feeling Dream's words held an underlying meaning to them. _That was it? Just... buy him some ramen, and perhaps some food for himself too?_ He shook his head violently. _Dream truly was weird._

“Uh... alright? Sure?” George said, well, more like asked, rubbing at his chin in thought, suddenly relaxed. _Huh_. His eyes found Dream's mask again. “Where should I leave it then? And which kind do you want? Oh, and do you want two, or one?”

A wheeze escaped the other, though much more nice than the one in the alley had been. George found it... well, _nice_. That's all.

“We'll decide there. I'll meet you tomorrow night at Ichiraku, alright?” Dream said, completely throwing George off-track. _What the_ \- A hand propped itself in his hair, patting at his head as if he were a dog. “I still haven't forgiven you for eating my food, though.”

George pushed away his confusion regarding Dream's previous words, to focus on the last ones. “Huh?! What more do you want, then?” he slapped the hand still on his head away, nudging his chin upwards as if to be intimidating.

Dream wheezed his wheeze again, before leaning down until he was at eye-level with George. The smile on his mask mocked him. “Hm, payback. What else?”

And with that, George blinked and Dream was gone.

After a moment of staring off into nothingness, George snapped out of it and angrily stomped down the hallway towards the Hokage's office. _He didn't have time for this cryptic stuff right now!_

(But, well, Dream's words were oddly foreshadowing, and George felt the tendrils of nervousness wrap tightly around him.)

  
  


_~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

  
  


Three groans of exhaustion rang around the Mission Room, three equally tired-looking men draping off random chairs.

“Ha... Told you we could... we could do it!” Sapnap breathes out from his spot, pumping a fist in the air in a weird, deflated movement.

Bad, who George had – luckily – found when on his way towards the Mission Room, and Ant both seemed to lifeless to even move, never mind speak.

“Yes,” George breathed out, trying to push himself up by his armrest with great difficulty. “But only barely.” He eyed the duo in a disapproving, warning glance, that made them shrink even further into their seats. “Let's not let it happen... again.”

With one last sigh, he eyed the clock on the wall. They'd taken a break, after handing out the right missions to the restless Jounin, a myriad of apologies to pair them up (George's cheeks were smarting from having had a smile pasted on for so long), but now it was time to welcome back the Jounin returning from missions.

Well, at least they'd averted a crisis, if only by a hair's breadth.

“Come on,” he encouraged the other, who only groaned in response, knowing what was to come. He pulled himself up, craning his neck around to try and make himself look more awake. “They should be starting getting over here any moment now.”

As if on cue, the doors opened, and in strolled two battered-up Jounin, one even trailed by a team of kids behind him. George sighed.

  
  


An hour later, and he was already feeling himself start drifting off. But hey, at least he hadn't used chakra all that much, otherwise he'd be a useless puddle on the floor right now.

“Uh, you good there?” a voice said from above, and he craned his neck upwards, towards the smiling Jounin looking down at him with something akin to sympathy in his eyes. George blamed his exhaustion on the way his gaze lingered on the sharp, spiky blond hair the man had, or the slanted, light-greenish almost yellow eyes glinting at him.

He cleared his throat professionally, stretching out a hand for the Jounin to put his report in. “Ahm, yes. Your name?”

Surprisingly, something about the other reminded George of the weird ANBU, Dream, even if he knew ANBU couldn't be Jounin at the same time. Seriously, how odd.

He was so caught up in his thoughts about Dream, that he almost missed the man's reply.

“It's Clay,” the man, Clay, grinned.

  
  


  
  


  
  


  
  


  
  


  
  


**Author's Note:**

> if you see wrong naruto facts in this fic shhhhhhh (not me at three am googling whether clocks were in naruto or not)
> 
> i have no idea what this fic is, but have it folks! Hope everyone enjoyed!


End file.
